Earnanæs Aranæs (Old Swedish

Old Swedish

Old Swedish is the name for two separate stages of the Swedish language that were spoken in the Middle Ages: Early Old Swedish , spoken from around 1225 until 1375, and Late Old Swedish , spoken from 1375 until 1526.Old Swedish developed from Old East Norse, the eastern dialect of Old Norse...

) and Årnäs (Modern Swedish

Swedish language

Swedish is a North Germanic language, spoken by approximately 10 million people, predominantly in Sweden and parts of Finland, especially along its coast and on the Åland islands. It is largely mutually intelligible with Norwegian and Danish...

) is the name of at least two locations, in what is today southern Sweden, which are known from history and legend. The names are variations of the same name, and this has aroused the interest of scholars since the 19th century.

Beowulf

In Beowulf

Beowulf

Beowulf , but modern scholars agree in naming it after the hero whose life is its subject." of an Old English heroic epic poem consisting of 3182 alliterative long lines, set in Scandinavia, commonly cited as one of the most important works of Anglo-Saxon literature.It survives in a single...

, Earnanæs is the location in Geatland

Götaland

Götaland , Gothia, Gothland, Gothenland, Gautland or Geatland is one of three lands of Sweden and comprises provinces...

 (today southern Sweden), where the hero of the epic kills the dragon but dies.

The ancient stronghold

The ancient stronghold of Aranæs (58°40′N 13°35′E) was located near Skara

Skara

Skara is a locality and the seat of Skara Municipality, Västra Götaland County, Sweden with 18595 inhabitants in 2005. Despite its small size, it has a long educational and ecclesiastical history. One of Sweden's oldest high schools, Katedralskolan , is situated in Skara...

 on the shore of lake Vänern

Vänern

Vänern is the largest lake in Sweden, the largest lake in the EU and the third largest lake in Europe after Ladoga and Onega in Russia. It is located in the provinces of Västergötland, Dalsland, and Värmland in the southwest of the country.- History :...

, in Västergötland

Västergötland

', English exonym: West Gothland, is one of the 25 traditional non-administrative provinces of Sweden , situated in the southwest of Sweden. In older English literature one may also encounter the Latinized version Westrogothia....

.

In the early 14th century, it was the property of the marshal

Marshal

Marshal , is a word used in several official titles of various branches of society. The word is an ancient loan word from Old French, cf...

 and Swedish regent Torkel Knutsson

Torkel Knutsson

Torkel Knutsson, known well as Marshal Torkel, of Aranäs, was constable and virtual ruler of Sweden during the early reign of King Birger Magnusson ....

. In this castle, King Birger Magnusson

Birger Magnusson

Birger Magnusson may refer to:* Birger jarl , founder of Stockholm* Birger, King of Sweden , King of Sweden...

 signed a reconciliation treaty with his brothers, the dukes Eric and Valdemar Magnusson. After the two dukes had poisoned the king's mind against his faithful marshal, Torkel was captured and taken to Stockholm

Stockholm

Stockholm is the capital and the largest city of Sweden and constitutes the most populated urban area in Scandinavia. Stockholm is the most populous city in Sweden, with a population of 851,155 in the municipality , 1.37 million in the urban area , and around 2.1 million in the metropolitan area...

, where he was beheaded. The once magnificent stronghold was demolished and the land was given to the convent of Gudhem, on the condition that the nuns should move to Aranæs within a year. The move appears to have been delayed, and instead they moved to Rackeby, in 1349, when they received the estate from king Magnus II of Sweden. The king renewed his father's endowment of Aranæs to the nuns, and two years later a convent was founded there. The nuns lived at Aranæs for a decade, until the estate passed to the king.

King Albert of Mecklenburg gave the estate to Gerhard Snakenborg in exchange for the castle Axevall, in 1366. In 1371, it was given by king Magnus to bishop Nils of Skara

Skara

Skara is a locality and the seat of Skara Municipality, Västra Götaland County, Sweden with 18595 inhabitants in 2005. Despite its small size, it has a long educational and ecclesiastical history. One of Sweden's oldest high schools, Katedralskolan , is situated in Skara...

. It was the property of the Diocese of Skara

Diocese of Skara

The Diocese of Skara is a diocese of the Church of Sweden , with its seat at Skara in Västergötland...

 until the Reformation

Protestant Reformation

The Protestant Reformation was a 16th-century split within Western Christianity initiated by Martin Luther, John Calvin and other early Protestants. The efforts of the self-described "reformers", who objected to the doctrines, rituals and ecclesiastical structure of the Roman Catholic Church, led...

. In 1683, Årnäs passed from the King to private owners.

It has been the object of several recent archaeological excavations, which have shown that the castle was much larger than was previously expected. Its size is still not knownhttp://hem.passagen.se/lalu0144/aranas/start.htm.

The lost town

The other one was the medieval borough Aranæs, a town mentioned in the saga of Håkon Håkonsson, who pillaged and burnt the town in 1256. According to a theory it was located 30 km south of modern Kungsbacka

Kungsbacka

Kungsbacka is a locality and the seat of Kungsbacka Municipality in Halland County, Sweden, with 17,784 inhabitants in 2005.It is one of the most affluent parts of Sweden, in part due to its simultaneous proximity to stunning countryside and the large city of Gothenburg..-History:The first records...

, near Gothenburg

Gothenburg

Gothenburg is the second-largest city in Sweden and the fifth-largest in the Nordic countries. Situated on the west coast of Sweden, the city proper has a population of 519,399, with 549,839 in the urban area and total of 937,015 inhabitants in the metropolitan area...

. Others, however, consider it more likely that it was located at the present Årnäs farm near Varberg

Varberg

Varberg is a locality and the seat of Varberg Municipality, Halland County, Sweden with 26,041 inhabitants in 2005.Varberg and all of Halland are well known for their 'typical west coast' sandy beaches. In Varberg the coast changes from wide sandy beaches to rocky terrain that continues north into...

 in Halland

Halland

' is one of the traditional provinces of Sweden , on the western coast of Sweden. It borders Västergötland, Småland, Scania and the sea of Kattegat.-Administration:...

.